CHICAGO: “I have been occasionally buying Blackout Bingo tickets for the past six months because I enjoy playing the Bingo-style game. I never imagined my favorite game would pay off with a $100,000 prize!” Lasang Tamang said when he presented his winning ticket at the Illinois Lottery Prize Center in Chicago.
Tamang was on his way to work at a downtown Chicago hotel when he stopped to buy a soft drink and a Blackout Bingo ticket. He was at work when he scratched it and realized he was a big winner. When he shouted ‘I won!’ his co-workers came running and then cheered when they found out he’d won the lottery.
Originally from Nepal, Tamang, 29, lives in Rogers Park with his parents, brother and two sisters. He plans to share the windfall with his family. “I have to take care of my family. I want to make them as happy as they have made me.” He also plans to buy himself a car. When asked what advice he would give to other lottery players he said, “Play your favorite game like I did!”
The winning Blackout Bingo ticket was purchased at Gateway Newstand, 875 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago. The store will receive a $1,000 bonus, one percent of the prize amount, for selling a winning ticket. Blackout Bingo is a $10 instant ticket with a top prize of $500,000. For more information, please visit illinoislottery.com.
Founded in 1974, the Illinois Lottery has contributed over $18 billion to the state’s Common School Fund to assist K-12 public schools, as well as hundreds of millions of dollars to the Capital Projects Fund and to special causes like Illinois Veterans, the fight against breast cancer, MS research, Special Olympics, and assistance for people living with HIV/AIDS.
Arvind Patel
